Stopped at CMC on my way to work this morning to pick up the jug for my next 24 hour urine collection. No big deal except that I was told “just swing by the lab and pick one up.” And when I popped in and asked the lab tech for a jug, he seemed surprised […]
Not much to say today
While waiting to do my next set of labs there’s nothing much else to say. I’ve been re-reading some of the material provided by CMC to get an idea of what may be next but all of that documentation is geared toward directed donations. Other than that, I’m still soda free. This is going on […]
First labs are back!
Yay! Just got a call from the coordinator and my my lab results came back fine. Well my good cholesterol was a little low, but nothing that would stop the process. The next step is to do another set of labs. I’ll have to swing by this week to pick up another urine jug and […]
Just a few notes….
I’ve not had a soda since lunch on Saturday, so I’m almost three days without at the moment. It’s much easier to avoid having one when I’m at home though. When going to lunch with the group at work it’s harder to avoid. But I’m proud that I’m doing better than the one per day […]
Another step closer
Went to the lab at the CMC transplant center this morning. I dropped off my jug of urine. Woot! I also had 8 vials of blood drawn for my initial work up. This step is my first “physical” interaction in the process and makes it feel so much more real. Now I wait again as […]
This part isn’t going to be easy…
I’ve known for a long time that I should cut down or eliminate my soda consumption (Coke, btw). But now with the kidney donation on the horizon it will most likely become a beneficial necessity. I started trying to slowly wean myself from it today. I’ve decided to start by limiting it to one per […]
Next step almost underway
This arrived yesterday. Further information, including the name of my advocate, as well as the urine collection jug for Sunday. I also had to call my coordinator as they had sent orders and blood collection vials assuming I was going to a different (local) lab for my bloodwork as opposed to the plan of having […]
When and how to tell others what I’m doing
At this point only a few people know what I’m doing. Obviously my wife Michele knows and is very supportive (though apprehensive and understandably worried as well). I told my boss yesterday since this will eventually require several weeks away from work. I’ve also shared my plans with Bryce, Kerri, and Amy whose story helped […]
The most interesting thing, so far…
Something I was curious about was how do they decide which kidney will be the one that gets “taken”? One of the points that was stressed to me by the coordinator was that my health was their first concern. I will have an advocate assigned to me for that particular purpose. Now, back the question. […]
But “Why do this?” you ask.
I’ll admit my first thought about doing this was motivated by an article I had read several years ago about a person’s experience at having received a kidney from an anonymous donor. I wish I still had the link to it. I was moved, but not enough. Later I saw and read this from my […]